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The Cricket Interview/Waqar Younis
By taking 113 wickets in 582 overs for Surrey in
1991, at a mere 14.65 runs a piece, Waqar Younis announced himself as one of the finest bowlers in contemporary cricket. An astonishing number of Waqar's wickets have been clean bowled or have come from
leg-before decisions. After all, his strength lies in a deadly combination
of explosive pace and reverse swing with which
he has regularly shattered the stumps or bruised the
toes of the world's batsmen. In an exclusive interview to
Anant Gaundalkar during the Champions Trophy in Sharjah, Waqar discusses his achievements and the state of the game.
How did you make it to the Pakistan team so young?
I use to bowl very fast early in my career.
But the line and length was lacking. Then I was tapped by the
redoubtable Imran Khan who gave me a lot of encouragement and guidance. I made a lot of improvement under Imran's expert instructions.
And the result is there for of you to see. Immy brought
about radical changes which has helped me immensely over years.
I am highly obliged to him for all he has done for me.
What was your first-ever exposure to international
cricket like?
It was a great experience. I was here with
the Pakistan team to participate in the six-nation AustralAsia
Cup. The tournament was played in typical humid conditions at the
beginning of summer, during the 1989-90 season. My bowling figures
were: 10-0-42-4 vs India, 10-1-26-6 vs Sri Lanka in the league
phase, 9-2-20-5 vs New Zealand in the semi-final and 8-0-38-2
vs Australia in the final. In just four games, I had a haul of 17 wickets at an astonishingly low average of almost nine
runs per piece. The 6 for 26 is still
my career best in the one-dayers.
After that fine performance, you seems to be bogged down by injury and, in the process, missed the 1992 World Cup.
I did miss that tournament due to injury which
seems to constantly bog me down from time to time. Even
my skipper Wasim Akram had to be rested due to this constant injury
problem. This is part and parcel of the game which every fast
bowler goes through. Whenever I am selected for the squad,
I make it a point to give a hundred per cent to my team.
But I was delighted that even in my absence, Pakistan went on to pocket
the World Cup.
What was your stint with county cricket like this year?
Very satisfying indeed, considering the fact that
my county Glamorgan went on to pocket the county championship.
I sent down a lot of overs and claimed the bulk of wickets
this season. It was a good experience
and I learnt a lot of things due to the varying conditions there.
What have been the most disappointing and satisfying
moments of your career so far?
First and foremost, the good things -- helping
Glamorgan to emerge triumphant as county champions
with a lot of bowling effort from me. Then my contributions
for Pakistan during which I have claimed over
200 wickets in both types of cricket. I am still going very well.
The depressing moments were the false accusations levelled against us during the tour of England in 1992 and subsequently in the Caribbean later that season. The accusations over the employment of 'reverse swing' --
which completely demolished the England batting
-- were baseless and without any proof whatsoever.
I mean, there were umpires, television cameras around and no
one ever pointed an accusing finger towards us on the field. It is disheartening
to be called a cheat when you have toiled hard in the field, day
after day, claiming wickets at regular intervals.
Then there were drug charges against us during the tour of
the Caribbean later that season. Again, these charges were without
any proof and created undue hardship, misunderstanding and
confusion. One should be careful before accusing
others.
Finally, how long will you carry on? And what
have you to say about the Pakistan bowling attack?
Pakistan has the best balanced bowling attack
among all the cricket-playing countries today. We have
a magical left-handed pace bowler in Wasim Akram, you have myself,
you have the leg-spin of Mushtaq Ahmed and classy off-spin in Saqlain
Mushtaq. I am proud to be a member of this squad. It has variation written all over it.
Once again to Imran Khan goes
the credit for moulding this side.
I will serve the country in right earnest as long as I am fit
and my services are needed by the selection committee. I am enjoying my
cricket to a great extent. It will be the icing on the cake if Pakistan
wins the next World Cup in England in 1999. That would be a fitting
reply to England's accusations during the summer of 1992.
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